This week is the Reveille’s annual fundraiser week. To donate, go here.

I studied journalism for about two years before I joined the Reveille, and to be honest, I didn’t like it very much. I was ambivalent about the degree I was paying thousands and studying endlessly for.

Then I started at the Reveille, and I got whiplash from how fast my sentiments changed. I was a digital optimizer, so I worked with social media and learned how to improve headlines. I loved it. So much thought went into every little detail, every word and character. The amount of passion on display from the people around me was obvious and infectious. Now, two years and several positions later, I’m the Editor in Chief, and I realize every part of the Reveille has that same care and passion behind it.

I’ve seen students work on stories for months on end. I’ve seen students hit brick walls in their reporting, and I’ve seen editors help them work around them. It brings me a lot of joy to see that the same spirit of passion that I admired so much when I started has gotten even stronger since then.

Every student who works here cares about what they do, and in order to give them opportunities to improve and grow as journalists, we’re asking for you to help support these students and donate.

The money we raise from our fundraiser week goes straight back into the Reveille. We send sports reporters across the country multiple times a semester for football games, gymnastics tournaments and more, all thanks to donations.

This semester, we sent sports reporters Ainsley Flood and Gabby Gray, along with photographer Payton Prichard, to the gymnastics SEC Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. We also sent sports reporter Tyler Harden to Spokane, Washington for the women’s basketball’s Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games.

Whenever and wherever the Tigers feel like winning a national championship, we’re there. We’ve been there in person for each of LSU’s most recent football, women’s basketball, baseball and gymnastics championships in the past, and I hope we can continue to do so.

Sending reporters on travel assignments gives them vital experience for covering live events. While the Reveille is committed to covering our campus and our city, another of our main goals is to teach our reporters.

Not many other student papers can offer its students what we do, and though I’m graduating this semester, I want the Reveille to keep supporting its students for years after I’m gone.